India's BRICS Chairmanship Highlights Its Emerging Role as Global Mediator

India hosted the BRICS 2026 summit and managed to keep the grouping functional despite deep internal disagreements among member nations. Rather than resolving the bloc's underlying tensions, New Delhi focused on preventing a breakdown of the proceedings. This diplomatic balancing act has drawn attention to India's growing ability to manage multilateral forums with divergent interests. The episode reinforces India's positioning as a bridge-builder between the Global South and Western powers. Analysts now see India's real challenge as sustaining this neutral mediator role while managing its relationships with Western allies.